The Diocese of Phoenix Black Catholic Ministry hosted a Novena for Racial Justice from Jan. 8-16, which featured Fr. Francis Katuta from the Diocese of Mazuzu in Malawi, Central Africa.

The novena was live-streamed on Facebook each evening with a different theme each day, starting with the “image of God” and culminating with “the goal of social justice.” Novena comes form the Latin word for “nine” and it refers to saying a novena prayer for nine straight days. According to blessedisshe.net, the number nine could signify the number of months that Mary was pregnant with Jesus, or also to when the Apostles and Mary prayed for nine days between Jesus’s ascension to heaven and Pentecost.

The sixth day was “Ubuntu,” which means humanity toward others. According to globalcitizen.org, President Barack Obama spoke about Ubuntu in 2018, when he delivered a lecture for Nelson Mandela in Johannesburg. During last week’s novena, Katuta spoke at length about the subject.

“I welcome you to the sixth day of our Novena for Racial Justice,” Katuta said. “The theme for today is Ubuntu. Ubuntu is an African concept of togetherness. Ubuntu is an African concept of community life, communal life, life within the society and community. Dear brothers and sisters, Ubuntu is a word in the southern part of Africa. It simply means, ‘I am because we are,’ or, ‘I am because you are.’

"I am a person because of you. I am a human being because you are also a human being. I am existing because you are also existing, therefor I also depend on you," he continued. "Ubuntu is a concept of being open and available to other people. Ubuntu is the concept of being readily available for each and every man present, regardless of where they come from, regardless of their race, ethnicity. Ubuntu means the essence of being human. That is why the direct meaning of Ubuntu is humanity towards others. Humanity towards others. Ubuntu speaks to the fact that we are all connected and that one can only grow and progress through growth and progression of others.”

Katuta is a citizen of Zambia and a member of the Order of Friars Minor Conventional. 

He was ordained to the priesthood on June 29, 2019, in Kabwe, Zambia, according to the Diocese of Phoenix Black Catholic Ministry’s Facebook page. He has a bachelor’s degree in philosophy from Anthonianum University in Rome, as well as a baccalaureate degree in theology from Tangaza University College in Nairobia, Kenya. He also has a diploma in psycho-spirituality from St. Bonaventure University in Lusaka, Zambia, is the author of “The Silence of Christ” and serves as a missionary in Malawi.